Fishin'
by Dakota Kid
Summary: Matt & Kitty take a little break to do some fishin'.


_Ok this is just a little thingy has been buzzing around the back of my very crowded brain for a while now. We all know that Matt and Kitty share a love of fishing, but rarely are allowed the luxary because they areto busy getting shot at, beat up, etc, etc. Sooo, I offer this. Love it, hate it please let me know. Oh and it's set earlier in the show...just so ya know._

Fishin'

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em.

He had asked over two weeks ago, asked her to take a whole day off with him and go fishing. It was the first time he had asked her to go anywhere with him other than to a private table or to have a drink. In fact she had been quite suprised that he had even asked but could still remember with clarity how the words had come out. "Say ah, Kitty I was wonderin if I could ask ya somethin'?" he had said, they had been sitting at their usual table in the Long Branch and for once Doc and Chester hadn't been sitting their with them. He had looked like a child wanting another cookie before dinner, as he sat across from her, playing with the brim of his stetson.

She couldn't believe it but the unfallable Matt Dillon had actually looked nervous as he sat across from her, so she decided to be easy on him. "Sure Matt. Ask away." Truth be told she was nervous too, the butterflies in her stomach were fluttering, Matt didn't usually ask her things, why the picnic that they had planned that had been ruined because Matt had to go out of town to chase down some outlaw, had been instigated by Kitty.

Matt really was nervous, he wanted to have a day to just get away with Kitty but he was scarred that they would make plans and again his job would ruin them, like they had the other numerous times before. In fact, Matt was downright afraid that Kitty might say no or worse yet stop having anything to do with him. "Well, I was wonderin' if you wanted to take a day off someday and go out and spend the day fishin' with me out at French Lake."

"Fishin' huh?" Kitty asked. "I see you remembered that I mentioned once to you that I liked to fish I see?"

"I remember everything you say to me Kitty." Matt said quietly.

That had been two weeks ago and still it seemed that Matt wasn't able to find the day or the time to take her and Kitty had a deep urge to go. It had been a while since she had went too, the last time had been with Doc. So now she waited patiently for Matt to decide if he was going to make any good on his askin'.

Matt knew that he had asked Kitty to go fishin', he wanted to go it just seemed that every time he turned around there was something else that he had to do or something else happened that made him have to stick around Dodge. But tomorrow, tomorrow he was goin, come hell or high water, he was goin! With his mind made up he strode across the dusty Front Street to the Long Branch, he walked through the bat wing doors and found Kitty sitting in the back drinking coffee.

"Mornin' Marshal." Sam greeted.

"Sam." Matt nodded in the mans direction, continuing on his route to where Kitty sat.

"Oh good morning Matt." Kitty said, as soon as she saw him.

"Morning Kitty." Matt said, pulling out a chair, turning it around and sitting down, allowing his long arms to cross the back.

"So what can I do for you this morning?"

Lowering his voice, Matt said, "Well I was wonderin' if you could get away tomorrow and take that fishin' trip with me."

"Well I suppose I could. You know I'm not to busy during the day around here." Kitty said with a smile. "Would you like me to make us something to take along for lunch?"

Remembering their missed picnic and the how Doc had twisted his ear over that one, Matt said, "No. I'll take care of it, I'll order us somethin' from Del Monico's."

Kitty smiled and then unable to contain her laughter she said, "No. Matt let me take care of it."

Matt gave her a little boy grin and shrugged his big shoulders, "Alright. I'll let you take care of lunch.

The next morning the big marshal was up and preparing for his day with Kitty by sunrise. He went to the stable and fed Buck, patting the big horse on the rump on his way out after feeding him. "Have a good day off old boy." Then he moved on to hitch up the buckboard that he had rented for his day out with Kitty. He then took it down the street to the jail to pack a few things and talk to Chester.

"Your gonna be gone the whole day Mister Dillon?" Chester asked, in aww. This was something new to Chester and he wasn't quite sure on how to handle it. "Well, what if somethin' were to happen here in Dodge, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, we'll be out at French Lake if you need me, but please Chester, only if its an emergency." Matt said.

Kitty woke early, much earlier than she would have on a normal day. She dressed and then dug around in her closet for her favorite fishing pole. She finally found it in a way back corner of the closet. She took it out and looked at it, running her fingers over the smoothness of the wood. This was going to be a wonderful day. She dressed in one of her older, but still nice day dresses and pulled out a big hat to shade her fair complexion.

Matt arrived at eight AM, pulling the buckboard up in front of the Long Branch, and parking it there. He went in to find Kitty, ready and waiting, her hat, a quilt and basket full of sandwhiches and lemonade all ready to go.

"Morning Kitty." Matt said, pushing his Stetson back on his head.

"Morning Matt. I'm already if you are." Kitty said, thrusting the basket towards Matt.

He took it and noticing its weight he said, "Geez Kitty, what all you got packed in here?"

"Roast beef sandwhiches and lemonade." Kitty said. Then giggling, she said, "Is it to heavy for you marshal?"

Matt lifted it up a little more and hefted it's weight. "No."

After an hours drive they arrived at French Creek. Once there Matt unhitched the horse, hobbled it and let it loose to eat grass while Kitty spread out the quilt under at tree and unloaded the fishing poles, leaving the basket for Matt. Then she went about getting her line ready to toss into the water.

By the time Matt finished with the horse and unloaded their lunch basket, Kitty already had her line baited and in the water. He went to where she was sitting and looked down at her, "Did you bait my hook for me too?"

Kitty looked up at him, the big hat shading her eyes, laughing, "Nope, sorry cowboy I think you should be able to handle that on your own."

Matt sat down and baited his hook and then threw his line out into the water, sticking it down in between a crevice in some rocks.

Things were quite for some time as Matt leaned back, his hat shading his eyes, napping and Kitty simply sat watching the ripples in the water as the breeze blew across it. However that quiet was shattered when Kitty felt tugging at the end of her line. Being an experienced fisherman, Kitty began to tug back and pull in some of the line. She had about half of the line pulled in when she decided that maybe she should wake Matt up and ask for some help. "Matt!" she yelped. "Matt!"

Kitty's cries for help roused Matt out of his Matt and thinking that they were being attacked by outlaws or Indians his hand instantly went for his gun, that wasn't there, he had left lying in the buckboard.

"No! Matt, help me with the line!" Kitty cried.

Finally figuring out what Kitty needed, Matt grabbed her pole and began to pull in the line.

"Oh my goodness, Matt, what do you think I've caught?" Kitty asked excitedly, waiting for Matt to pull the line and fish in.

"I don't know," Matt grunted, as he tugged and pulled, "I think that maybe you caught a whole school of fish."

Kitty laughed at the comment and finally Matt was able to real in what he was sure one of the biggest trout he had ever seen. "By golly, that sure is a big ole fella."

Kitty looked over the fish gleefully before pulling the hook out and placing him on the stringer. "Yeah, I bet this is the one that got away from Doc and I that day we came out here." She rebaited her hook and threw her line back into the water.

Matt went back into his position leaning against the tree with his hat shading his face. Giving Kitty the opportunity to just sit and look at him for a few minutes with out every eye in Dodge on her. _My what a handsome man he is._ She thought to herself. She wanted to giggle to herself to think that she had stayed in Dodge just because she saw him from a distance. Had taken a chance and stayed in a muddy little ole cowtown because of one man.

Matt was aware that Kitty was watching him but she wasn't aware that he was watching her just as intently from under the brim of his hat.


End file.
